


Dragons and Butterflies

by SummySwan



Series: Cafe AU [1]
Category: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Genre: Bakery AU, M/M, One-Shot, Self-Indulgent, Soulmark AU, Soulmate AU, Yona of the Dawn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2019-08-22
Packaged: 2020-10-01 17:39:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20353447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SummySwan/pseuds/SummySwan
Summary: “I must say, although I personally don’t care for soulmarks, yours is quite beautiful.”Kija blinked.





	Dragons and Butterflies

Kija had always adored his soulmarks.

It was uncommon for a soulmark to change over twice a year, yet his went from symbol to symbol as quickly as the sun rose and set over the sky. It was always a delight for Kija to be surprised by a new mark on his hand, whether it was something as simple as a dash of green or as profound as a dragon traveling up his entire arm until it wrapped around his shoulder snugly. And his other marks tended to trail all over his body like they could never stay still, always exploring and blossoming into something new while the old marks faded into nothingness. 

As rare as it was, he could have multiple separate markings all at once, although there was always a dazzling theme among them. It was like putting together a puzzle of sorts to try and figure out what the marks meant, what his soulmate was feeling- or maybe he had multiple soulmates, he wasn’t quite sure, but his gut feeling told him it was only one person. The marks had made more common appearances as colored scales, sometimes other concerning things such as chains grappling around both of his legs...In the midst of a dreary night, he had felt as though his legs were burning when the chains would make an appearance, like an echo of pain, a dull ache that he couldn’t shake out. He wondered if the marks reflected his soulmate’s dark and dimmer feelings, if his soulmate also had such commonly changing marks. What did his soulmate’s marks look like, were they similar to his peculiar ones?

His mark was currently a marvelous viridity colored snake coiling itself around his right arm. The tongue of the snake poked out and was touching a small mole Kija had, and despite it being a deadly creature, Kija felt himself smile gently at the sight of it. A snake bore its fangs the first chance it got for a meal, and Kija briefly wondered if his soulmate was a striking sort of person. Or maybe the snake meant they were brave, hard-skinned, too tough to get through the hard exterior? Scales did frequently make appearances, after all. And the dragons themselves were a fierce look, although it made him much more intimidating if one managed to appear on his neck. Was his soulmate a strong minded person too?

Kija let his roaming thoughts drift through his hazy mind, blankly sipping on his hot chocolate as he gazed outside the huge window. He frequented this coffee shop often despite not being much of a coffee person himself. Kija frankly didn’t like the tangy aftertaste of coffee, and he felt more tired than anything else from drinking the beverage, so it didn’t exactly do wonders for him. But his dear friends worked here, so Kija always made a stop to the place a few times each week. Yona and Soo Won made a charming pair of baristas to anyone who came in, the two of them being easy on the eyes with a gentle smile to melt anyone’s grouchy moods. Hak, however...He had somehow managed to charm many ladies despite his grouchy moods in the mornings, who Kija suspected only came in to flirt with him.

The coffee shop itself was cozy as well, and Soo Won’s cupcakes were a delight to bite into when Kija indulged himself on occasion. Yona had even taken to doing latte art, being able to make cute hearts and unique etch spirals. It almost made Kija want to get a latte simply to see the design that she cheerfully made with a hum. Hak wasn’t one for baking or anything of the sort, so he mainly took to snatching one of Soo Won’s treats when he could (Soo Won was a lot sharper than he came across as, and Kija suspected that he let Hak steal a cupcake every now and then).

Reaching for his tea cup again, Kija suddenly jerked away at the site of green on his hand, nearly colliding with the fragile glass. He was frozen stiff for a long moment, before he let out a delayed huff and slowly reclined into the backing of his chair. His soulmark was always moving, never staying in one place for too long, and it startled Kija to see it on occasion. Was his soulmate someone who enjoyed sports, perhaps? His other hand grazed against the snake absentmindedly, eyes in a daze as his fingers nimbly started to trace the scales.

“Kija-san.” A gentle voice had him startling again, peeking up to see Soo Won greeting him with his usual gentle smile.

“Ah, hello.” Kija politely greeted him, not expecting the other to have approached him.

Soo Won always kept his silky hair in a high ponytail and wore frilly aprons, today being no exception. Today’s apron consisted of a bright pink color with a pretty hue that rivaled the man’s colored cheeks, no doubt causing all of his fans to swoon upon seeing it. Kija wasn’t one to look only on the surface and judge someone solely on appearance, but even he was aware of how pretty Soo Won was. He had a princely-like charm, as Yona called it. 

Soo Won tucked a loose strand of hair behind his ear, and Kija had to stop himself before his eyes followed the motion.

“Well-“ Soo Won started, scratching his flushed cheeks. “Yona told me about your-“

“Prince~!” A voice stopped Soo Won from finishing his sentence, both glancing on over to spot someone waving.

The first thing Kija noticed was his long hair. It was green, almost gem-like, and had been carefully pulled back into a low braid that swung side-to-side. As the man sashayed towards them, the next thing he noted was the cocky smile that adorned the person’s handsome face, along with fashionable jeans and a purposefully loose, long sleeved shirt that showed off his collarbones. The man’s ears were adorned with glimmering earrings, along with a small nose piercing that Kija only just barely noticed when he was close enough.

The man sauntered up, resting an elbow on Soo Won’s shoulder, “Would you mind telling me where Yona-chan is?” 

Soo Won smiled cheekily, clearly brightening up at seeing the man. Most wouldn’t care to notice, but Soo Won always tended to smile as a response to any sort of situation. It was rare that Kija would see one of his more genuine smiles directed at someone other than Hak or Yona.

“Jae Ha, it’s lovely to see you! Yona happens to be on her break right now.” Soo Won chirped in response. 

Jae Ha glanced on over towards him as if he had just noticed Kija, droopy eyes giving him a brief but notable once over. Kija’s casual outfit consisted of high waisted jeans and a pastel colored shirt with sleeves that stopped around his wrists. He had pulled his hair back into a braid today, opting for a more convenient look. Kija wasn’t sure if Jae Ha’s curious eyes looking him over were a sparkling blue or a light purple, but the man gave him an amused smile before Kija realized he was obviously staring.

“Are you an acquaintance of Yona as well?” Kija asked, the other giving him a smile almost eerily similar to Soo Won’s usual curve of the lips in response.

“Ah, you must be Kija-kun, right? Yona-chan has mentioned your silver hair a few times.” Jae Ha held out his hand in greeting.

Kija reached out to shake his hand, his mark already having coiled around his hand. If Jae Ha was put-off by the unusual mark, he didn’t show it, instead opting to look at it inquiringly.

“That’s a unique mark.” Jae Ha stated casually, glancing over to Soo Won with a cheeky look, “They almost rival your pretty marks, Prince.”

“Again with that nickname...” Soo Won pouted, before glancing towards Hak motioning him to come over, an urgent look in his eyes. “I’ll let Yona know you’re here. We can talk later, Kija-san.”

Kija nodded with a smile.

As Soo Won walked away to continue working and most likely deal with a rude customer, Jae Ha smoothly sat down across from Kija at his table. Crossing his legs and resting his cheek on his hand, Jae Ha gave him almost a flirtatious look. 

“I must say, although I personally don’t care for soulmarks, yours is quite beautiful. Yona-chan mentioned it as well.” Jae Ha commented, staring unabashedly at Kija’s hand.

“Ah, thank you.” Kija blushed lightly before glancing down, “I’m sure my soulmate has unusual marks as well.”

Kija was too preoccupied with staring at his mark fondly, not noticing his misstep. A few beats of silence passed before Kija realized the conversation was starting to simmer into an awkwardly quiet territory.

Looking up, Kija gave him a gentle smile. “What does your soulmark look like? If it’s alright that I ask that.”

Kija caught the slight twitch and look of discomfort on the other’s face, but before he could apologize, Jae Ha was already telling him.

“Mine changes occasionally, I suppose.” He shrugged, but Kija was easily able to notice the tension in his smile. “Although it usually switches between either butterflies or dragons. Quite an unusual pairing, right?”

“You have dragons as well?” Kija blurted out, unconsciously leaning forward in excitement, “My mark changes at least once a day, but I’ve always had dragons constantly appear.”

“Huh. Well, then I suppose it isn’t too unusual of a mark if others have then as well.” Jae Ha chuckled while a seed of unease was planted in his stomach, glancing down warily towards the other’s mark before blinking in surprise at the lack of.

Kija followed his eyes down to his now bare hand, before letting out a soft chuckle. “My mark usually moves around a lot, as you can see. My soulmate probably enjoys traveling, or something of the sort.” 

Jae Ha didn’t respond, only humming lightly in response, feeling more and more aware of how familiar that sounded. There was another lull in conversation, although there wasn’t any mutual subject Kija could bring up that he knew of to discuss. Kija glanced down towards his supposedly bare hand, only to see a chain in the midst of wrapping itself around his fingers. It has ensnared itself around his palm multiple times as well, disappearing under his sleeve and most likely trailing up his entire arm. Chains never tended to slink around his fingers, usually only going for his legs, although more commonly his right one-

Kija couldn’t tear his eyes away from his mark, missing a look he wouldn’t have been able to decipher on Jae Ha’s face. Maybe it was a horrid realization that flickered across his eyes, maybe it was resentment that caused his mouth to sink down. Maybe, maybe it was fear.

“Chains, huh...” He muttered under his breath.

Kija’s eyes finally met his again. “Did you say something?”

It was in that exact moment when Jae Ha realized the mix of light blue and green in the other’s eyes were the same hue as the butterflies that he had resented mere minutes ago. He wasn’t so sure, now. There was a slight pause, before Jae Ha forced his lips into a smile. Chains were quite an accurate representation of himself, he supposed. 

“No, nothing.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
